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Golan Dol
"Listen to the fire and tell me what you hear." '-Golan Dol' Golan Dol is an accomplished dwarf magewright who resides in the city of Flamekeep in Thrane. History Golan was born to a clan of warriors, and his parents expected him to follow the traditional path to the field of battle. But Golan had a different calling. As a child he was fascinated by fire; he believed that he could hear voices in the crackling of flames, whispering secrets of steel and gold. Whether he was in fact touched by magic or simply delusional, he proved to have a remarkable talent at the forge, both when it came to metal-working and magic; he was apprenticed to a local smith, but swiftly outpaced the skills of his master, becoming a magewright of remarkable skill. Many said that Golan was blessed by the Sovereign Onatar, but Golan himself became captivated by the doctrine of the Silver Flame, and soon traveled to Thrane to serve as an armorer to the templars. As decades passed, his skill and reputation increased by leaps and bounds. Soon he was brought to Flamekeep, and in 820 YK he was appointed Master of the Forge. Fire was his specialty, both flaming weapons and armor and shields that could protect the wearer from heat, and he proudly forged blades for the greatest champions of the age. Dark times were ahead. In 832 YK the church began its crusade against lycanthropy. In the beginning, all believed this was a righteous cause: the threat was clear, and the templars all that stood between innocents and horror. Flaming ''silver blades, ''wands of fireball, ''bracers of archery – ''Golan worked tirelessly to supply the soldiers of the Flame with the tools they needed to fight the battle. Decades passed, and the tide of battle turned; what had been a desperate struggle against an unstoppable tide of evil slowly became a ruthless purge. Stories trickled back about shifters slain due to the paranoia of the Purified, and some theologians argued that the Keeper of the Flame was mistaken in his claims. Golan began to suffer from terrible nightmares, in which he saw the faces of those killed by his magical weapons. He was stricken by fears that he was serving as a tool of the demons in the Flame… and in 888 YK he resigned from his position as Master of the Forge, disappearing from the public eye. In 894 YK the Last War began. King Thalin of Thrane asked Golan to help equip the armies of the nation, while Golan’s relatives demanded that the smith return to his family’s ancestral home in Breland and serve Queen Wroann. Golan refused. Little is known of his activities over the next century; he moved from village to village, supporting local militias and battling invaders, but rarely revealing his full talents. Some say that he forged a blade for Kaith Serrain, the first Keeper of the Flame to rule the nation; others claim that this was a piece of propaganda on the part of the cardinals. With the war’s end, Golan has returned to his home in Flamekeep. He has remained in seclusion, rebuffing emissaries from Cardinal Krozen and Queen Diani alike. After his century of absence, many have forgotten Golan Dol – but his works are still legendary. Personality Golan is a stern and taciturn man. While he still has a deep and abiding faith in the principles of the Silver Flame, he no longer trusts the hierarchy of the church – though the nobles of the Five Nations and the dragonmarked barons are certainly no better. Everything is uncertain, and even the most well-intentioned actions can lead to tragedy. As a result, he keeps to himself, listening to the crackling fire and trying to decide if he hears demons or divinity. Golan is 366 years old. Time has sapped his strength and speed, and he knows that he could die any day. He continues to hone his skills, forging swords only to melt them down and start again; unlike the living, fire and steel never lie. He has done everything possible to maintain a low profile since his return to Flamekeep. He does not see guests, and has not left his home in over a year. He shares his abode with three warforged (Rusty, Twelve, and Calo), former soldiers he met during his travels; today these warforged serve as both apprentices and guards, performing whatever tasks must be done in the outside world. Conversation is kept to a minimum in the house, but the warforged are comfortable working in silence. In addition to his study of magic and religion, Golan is a historian with a particular interest in the Empire of Dhakaan. The Dhakaani smiths possessed metallurgical secrets and other techniques that have yet to be duplicated in the modern age, and Golan is always interested in acquiring Dhakaani relics. Golan is a skilled and courageous warrior, but he’s also an old man. He won’t back down when a cause is just, but he’ll always look for alternatives to battle. He has a good heart, but he is plagued by self-doubt and cynicism, and this often prevents him from using his skills in the cause of good. Notes Golan Dol is not a character mentioned in any Eberron sourcebook and is therefore not considered canon. The information on this page was taken from Keith Baker's website, Bossy the Cow. References Category:Inhabitants of Flamekeep Category:Dwarves Category:Magewrights Category:People from Breland Category:People Category:Silver Flame Category:Historical Figures Category:Veterans of the Last War Category:Non-canon material